Report: Bristol Ladies 24-5 Worcester Ladies

Bristol Ladies kick-off the 2015/16 season in style, beating local rivals Worcester Ladies in their first performance at Ashton Gate.

Two tries in the first four minutes blew Worcester away as Bristol Ladies laid down their marker for the rest of the season.

In the first minute, Courtney Bishop put the home side in front following some storming carries from Abbie Parson and Sydney Gregson, and Izzy Noel Smith went over three minutes later, with help from England No 8, and Bristol new girl, Sarah Hunter.

The following 35 minutes saw Bristol in control, with only a few attacks from Worcester during the half. Gregson, playing at full back, gained rapturous applause from the crowd after two try saving tackles when Worcester looked to have broken through the Bristol defence.

The execution of the Bristol set piece was top class, getting the ball out wide to the wingers who were able to show their strength and pace down both side of the pitch. Tilly Vaughan-Fowler capitalised on this with a show of superb pace to score an outstanding solo try to finish off the first half.

The second half started much the same as the first, with Caryl Thomas dotting the ball down over the line to take the score to 24-0.

Worcester attempted to up their pace and attack, testing the Bristol defence and the Worcester flanker, Sian Williams, did manage to brake through with the last play of the game to get a consolation try for the visitors.

Captain Amber Reed said: "That was a fantastic start from the girls – the hard work we put in on the training field really paid off and we played at full pace for the full 80 minutes. There’s more to come from us for the season, but this was a great way to start."